"Pieces of the Island"-An English Translation

Bismark Galan

This past 20th of May, Cuban Independence Day, numerous pro-freedom activities were carried out throughout the island. Now, a video has arrived from Santiago de Cuba which shows a march carried out by 16 dissidents, members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), throughout various blocks of the Sueño Neighborhood. The participants of the march described it as a “spontaneous” and “successful” demonstration.

The activists who marched were not repressed by the political police during the moment of the activity, and much less by everyday citizens. They demanded freedom for all political prisoners, mentioning specific names such as Bismark Mustelier, Jorge Cervantes Garcia and Dany Lopez de Moya. They also shouted “Zapata Lives“, “Harold Cepero Lives” and “Oswaldo Paya lives“, among other messages in favor of freedom and true change.

Cuban political police agents, infuriated by the success of the march, organized a mob which carried out an act of repudiation against the dissidents when they returned to the home of Daniel Barriel Sanjurjo. The mob shouted offensive slogans as well as things like ‘Down with the worms’ and ‘Leave the country’. As a response, the activists expressed “Down with the political police” and “Long live the Cuban People“.

The dissidents did not back down at any moment. Some of them were detained and beat later on. See the video here:

This Tuesday, June 19th, the Cuban regime sentenced Bismark Mustelier Galan, an active dissident and member of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) with two years in prison, according to the coordinator of the mentioned organization, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia. Galan was being held in the Aguadores Prison since April 1st 2012 for civically protesting in a hospital when he learned that a minor who was sick was not receiving medical attention. Because of this, the communist authorities on the island accused him and, ultimately sentenced him, for “resistance” and “disrespect”.

Only Bismark’s wife, Alina Fonseca Guevara, and a handful of relatives were able to assist the trial, said Ferrer Garcia, explaining that “more than 30 activists who were trying to show solidarity with Galan were arrested and taken to different police units throughout the province of Santiago- the majority to the Third Unit, and others to Micro 9 and a police unit in Mella“. The police operations began during the morning hours of that same Tuesday.

Some cases of repression which the former political prisoner outlined were that of activist Ovidio Martin Castellano, “who was beaten by police agents” during his arrest, as well as that of Sergio Lezcay- also an activist- who was detained in the Third Unit and attacked by tear gas by the prison guards. “Sergio passed out because of these gases, and it is something very serious, the use of tear gas against peaceful dissidents who are being held in narrow cells with very little ventilation. It is a criminal and abusive behavior on behalf of the jailers, the police officers of the unit, and the political police which allows such actions“.

In addition to activists from UNPACU, various members of the Ladies in White also faced reprisals, as did “two activists from the Republican Party of Cuba“. Many were impeded from leaving their homes by police officers, while others were held in security check points alongs the way to Bismark’s trial.

On June 14th, more than 20 dissidents had also mobilized towards the tribunal where the trial was supposed to be held, but it was suspended for the 19th. In total, the trial was postponed three times. Jose Daniel Ferrer explains that the authorities gave Bismark’s wife very little information and that State Security was very fearful of such mobilization of so many dissidents, so much so that a couple of agents visited his home in Palmarito de Cauto to tell him to dissuade the activists. “They came to my home to try and convince me to talk with the dissidents of UNPACU, they told me that it was not necessary for them to go near the court, and they told me they moved the trial to the 19th. They also said that if we failed to comply they would have to act…but it is us who act, and who set the initiative, carry out peaceful protests whenever necessary“.

On the same 14th, another activist of UNPACU- Yuniesky Dominguez Gonzalez- informed that the home of Alina Fonseca had been surrounded by State Security officials, among them agent Alejandro. The wife of Gonzalez, Lady in White Taimi Vega Biscet (who lost her unborn child in the beginning of 2012 due to the aggressions of the political police), was also “surrounded and later threatened by agent Rodolfo“.

Although it all indicates that the state repression will continue increasing against human rights activists in the Eastern region of the country, Ferrer Garcia signals that the activities of the Resistance in favor of freedom and democracy will also increase, something proven by the constant apparition of signs with anti-government messages, according the dissident.

“Signs appear on police units, on the headquarters of the Communist Party, at the homes of Rapid Response Brigade members, etc“, he explained, “the messages on the signs demand change“, in addition to including slogans such as “Down with the Dictatorship”, “Down with Hunger”, and “Down with the Castro brothers”.

“Signs and stickers are also appearing on buses and trucks“, adds Ferrer, sharing a story of one case where the police chief of Palmarito de Cauto found a sticker upon entering his unit. The sticker read: “Join us“. According to some witnesses (dissidents among them), the agent was infuriated and started to rip the stickers from the wall. Signs also propped up in front of the home of the Aguadores Prison Chief, Luis Enrique Lopez Diaz, in the city of Santiago de Cuba. These signs read: “Down with Luis Enrique, assassin”, and “Down with Fidel and Raul“.

To inform everyday Cubans about situations such as that of Bismark Mustelier and other activists, members of UNPACU have also been handing out leaflets which explain the work they do and which demand the rights of the people for a just salary and access to the internet, among other rights.

“This mechanism is yielding very good results“, said Ferrer, “One thing that paralyzes the majority of Cubans is misinformation. So we talk to them and tell them to tear off the oppressive methods around them in order to live in honesty, with freedom and human rights“. And, according to the dissident, the everyday Cubans are listening to the message and often have public chats about these issues.

On his part, Ferrer Garcia said that the prison sentence of Bismark Mustelier Galan was not because of any crime, but instead it was simply “vengeance of the political police because of his successful activism in favor of freedom“.

The leader of UNPACU affirms that this organization will keep carrying out activities demanding freedom for Galan and all of the Cuban population in general, a struggle which “is difficult, but not impossible“.

Today, the “Tweet” comes from former political prisoner and national coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia. The dissident published a message from the current political prisoner Bismark Mustelier Galan who has been behind bars in the Aguadores Prison of Santiago de Cuba since April 1st, just for demanding that a minor be treated medically in a hospital, considering that the child was suffering from various ailments and was not being tended to.

[TRANSLATION] @jdanielferrer: Bismark Mustelier with his spirit high in the air, always exhorting his brothers from the opposition to continue firm in the struggle for freedom

In the vast majority of cases, Twitter is used freely and frequently throughout the world by all sorts of users. It is a message which is instantaneously published on the internet (which is limited to 140 characters) and deals with any subject which the user wishes to discuss, whether it be social, entertainment, humor, science, politics, commentary, etc. In Cuba, Twitter messages cost users 1 CUC (national currency) each and are only possible through phone text messages, unless the user has access to the internet (a rare Case in Cuba, considering the tight state censorship practiced over the web). In many cases, friends who have joined in solidarity in the exterior of the island help these Twitter users to publish their messages.

Bismark Mustelier Galan. Political Prisoner. Held in Aguadores prison since April 1st 2012

Alina Fonseca Guevara, the wife of political prisoner Bismark Mustelier Galan, who has been jailed since April 1st in the Aguadores Prison after he complained in a hospital about lack of medical attention for a minor, informed this Friday, May 4th, about the danger which her husband faces in prison after he declared himself on hunger strike this past Thursday May 3rd.

According to Fonseca Guevara, Bismark began his hunger strike the moment in which the penal authorities, specifically the chief of the unit Luis Enrique Lopez, denied her right, and the right of other activists, to visit him in prison. “I went to visit Bismark on Thursday along with a group of his childhood and neighborhood friends- Miguel Rafael Cabrera Montoya, Rolando Humberto Rodriguez, Hector Felix Labrada, and Jose Batista Flacon, and they denied our visit“, said Guevara, “so then, I went to speak to the chief of the unit (Luis Enrique Lopez) and he told me that he was the one who had made such decision and that the prison was like his house, that he would decide who could enter“.

Fonseca said that with the hunger strike, Bismark is demanding that the penal authorities allow his friends and family to visit him, as well as that his prison conditions are immediately improved. “In his penal ward, the bathrooms are horrible. There has not been water for 15 days, they give them just a bit of water sometimes to shower and to drink. Many prisoners chose to drink it and then they cannot shower“, said Alina, adding that she was able to communicate with her husband on Friday morning. “Bismark told me not to worry, that he was strong. He told me that he would not depose his hunger strike until his demands are fulfilled“.

Meanwhile, Yuniesky Domínguez González, an activist from the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), reiterated the severity of Bismark’s case, pointing out and warning that the Aguadores Prison is the same penitentiary in which the dissident Wilman Villar Mendoza died just 4 months ago after he was kept in horrid conditions and he initiated a hunger strike.

“In other words, we fear for the security and life of Bismark Mustelier Galan,” said Gonzalez, “we know that the Aguadores Prison is a horrid place and we fear very much for his life”.

Gonzalez added that during the morning of Friday, May 4th, in the town of Palma Soriano their appeared 4 signs with anti-government messages written on them, as well as messages demanding the release of the political prisoners Bismark Galan and Dany Lopez de Moya. The latter was recently sentenced to 1 year and 6 months of prison under false charges of “public disorder” after publcily wearing a T-shirt which read “Boitel-Zapata-Wilman Live“- a tribute to three Cuban freedom fighters who have died while demanding justice for the Cuban people.

According to Yuniesky Gonzalez, in addition to those 4 signs, throughout this past week “various signs have appeared on numerous occassions“, and “they have been put there by dissidents and by people who do not even belong to opposition groups“.

“It has gotten to the point that the government, and State Security, have put put up heir own signs with their own messages against the opposition, but people who pass by draw an ‘X’ on it and write ‘NO’, which goes to show the disapproval felt by the opposition and by everyday citizens in regards to these government signs“.

In Eastern Cuba, April 2nd 2012 began with various non-violent protests carried out by the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) in the municipality of El Caney, in Santiago de Cuba, according to the former political prisoner of conscience Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia who published the news through his Twitter account (@jdanielferrer). According to the activist, the members of UNPACU were demanding the liberation of Rogelio Tabio, who has been on hunger strike for more than a month now and who is currently in very weak physical condition. Activists also demanded the liberation of Andres Carrion, the Cuban who screamed ‘down with communism’ during the Pope’s Mass in Santiago de Cuba. The dissidents also demanded freedom for Bismark Galan who was detained on April 1st for filming a documentary about a young girl who is sick and who has not received adequate medicine. In addition, the dissidents were demonstrating against the violence which Ladies in White are constantly victim of.

Ferrer continued to inform through Twitter throughout the day, explaining that in El Caney 10 human rights activists from UNPACU “took to the streets screaming slogans against the dictatorship and in favor of human rights”. When the demonstration came to an end, the dissidents headed to the home of Guillermo Cobas, a well known activist in that area. The home was rapidly surrounded by political police agents who then started a mob repudiation attack. During this time, in another center of Santiago de Cuba, in the Vista Hermosa neighborhood, another 14 activists from UNPACU were carrying out a similar protest, according to Ferrer.

Meanwhile, another Tweet narrated that 22 members of UNPACU were detained with violence in the home of Raumel Vinajera in La Concepcion, Palma Soriano. These dissidents were planning to go to the street to carry out another similar protest. Ferrer Garcia told ‘Hablalo sin Miedo’ that, around 11 AM, the home of Vinajera was “raided”, as was that of his mother. Ferrer explained that “the latter [Vinajera’s mother’s] was destroyed”.

Just hours later, at around 5 PM, Jose Daniel Ferrer made an urgent phone call to ‘Hablalo sin Miedo’, denouncing that his home in Palmarito de Cauto was about to get raided by a number of political police agents. Ferrer said that the “agents want to tear down the door”. Minutes later, former political prisoner Pedro Arguelles Moran confirmed that the police ended up breaking into Ferrer’s home, arresting him and his wife, the Lady in White Belkis Cantillo, as well as other dissidents who were inside the house.

Angel Antonio Blanco, an activist from UNPACU, also told ‘Hablalo sin Miedo’ that police officers were “robbing” things inside the home of Ferrer Garcia, as they also did with the home of Raumel Vinajera.

As of this moment, the whereabouts of Ferrer Garcia and the rest of the detainees are unknown. Ferrer, as well as other activists, had assured that the repressive wave which occurred in Cuba during the papal visit was only a preparation for a larger scale violent crackdown which would be set in motion to squash any social rebellion. We are alerting the international community that right now, in Cuba, there are many peaceful dissidents behind bars, just because they defended human rights. Among the detainees are independent journalists, Ladies in White and former political prisoners, as well as a hunger striker- Rogelio Tabio- who is fighting for his life.